Although vertical agreements which restrict competition are prohibited under section 4 of the Competition Act 2002, as amended, the legislation permits the CCPC to declare in writing that a specified category of vertical agreements, decisions or concerted practices are not prohibited by Irish competition law.

The current CCPC declaration closely resembles the European Commission’s Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) as it stood prior to revisions made in June 2022.

The CCPC is now in the process of updating its declaration to reflect changes implemented by the Commission to the VBER.

A consultation begun yesterday to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to provide feedback and commentary on the proposed updates to the declaration and notice respectively.

The consultation, which can be found on the CCPC website, will run until Friday 10 February 2023.